Iced Prophet
by A Wordsmith
Summary: The Dragonets of Destiny; a group of dragonets chosen to end the war. But picked through means of a fake Nightwing prophecy, one created as a way to crown Blister Queen. But Morrowseer had thought ahead, and he knew that a backup plan was needed. For those who looked closer, there was another dragonet of a different shape and color.
1. Chapter 1

A hulking black shape stood still on the edge on a cliff, his wings streamlined to his sides and unbuffered by the strong winds that threatened to tilt him off balance. He arched his neck, looking down at the jagged rocks staying strong against water crashing against them. The edges of his black lips curled into a smirk.

"Morrowseer." A voice echoed from behind him, deep but still female. He sighed quietly and turned from the roaring waves, his tail sliding neatly behind him against the smooth earth ground.

An elegant form, a light sandy brown, stood proudly there, black diamonds etching themselves up and down her curved neck. A thin tail tipped with a curled barb rattled against stones on the ground. A devious smirk adorned a cold face. Morrowseer smiled.

Two powers, each in their own way, facing each other on a cliff none would ever remember. One gold, one black; each working together for the same purpose.

"Blister." He inclined his head, taking his eyes off her for just the barest of seconds, before raising them to meet her equally black ones. "You received my message?"

She nodded slowly, her diamond shaped head moving smoothly against the wind. Her wings tucked themselves closer to her body until they were practically invisible. She got straight to the point, no denying that she was blunt. "Why would you want to add a new line to the prophecy?"

Morrowseer smiled, his eyes alight with the insane glint that had let him come up with the idea in the first place. "Think of it as… a _backup plan_."

Blister frowned, her perfect features marred. "Another group of dragonets? To take over if the first would fail?"

Morrowseer blinked in disgust. He snorted, his warm breath stirring the chilled air. "Now, that would be silly!" He chided. "Twice the chance of this entire plan failing. Nothing as drastic as that."

Blister stilled, her tail twitching ominously. "Morrowseer." She warned coldly, her face lowering until her eyes were slits.

"I simply mean that if something were to happen, if the delightful little dragonets were to gain a mind of their own and attempt to pick another queen, then we could use this." With a flourish of his unfurling wings, he let Blister see the thin satchel attached to his side. With a delicate claw, he plucked a scroll from inside its protected depths and held it out, his black talons curled loosely around its smooth surface.

Blister carefully took it, her black eyes devoid of emotion. She unfurled it, letting the words written in a careful claw be exposed to the air. She read it aloud, keeping her voice blank.

" _And from the cold, a bursting star_

 _The wings of ice come from afar."_

She stopped, winding the scroll back up with a flick of her claws. "I'm afraid I don't understand." Her voice was covered in layers of suspicion. "What good could another scheming dragonet do for us?"

Morrowseer looked put out. He sighed, accepting the scroll back from Blister and tucking it in his bag. "Don't you see? This dragon will save the prophecy if the others try to say others!"

"I do _not_ see it. They will simply be exactly like others, trying to choose one of my idiotic sisters for the throne."

"AH!" Exclaimed Morrowseer. "Now I understand! You think that this dragonet will be raised with the others! But no. They will be raised separately, having only the knowledge and wisdom of Blister available to them. They won't be able to choose any others, for they will know no others."

Blister smiled. It was slow, but horrible; like poison spreading over her lips. It conveyed all of their plans for their - _her_ \- future.

" _Agreed_." She hissed out.

* * *

 **Hi! So this is just a little story idea that I'm going to throw out to my WoF fans out there. It will not be updated regularly, as I'm focusing on other stories too, but there will be more chapters.**

 **So enjoy, and please review!**

 **Frost OUT!**


	2. Chapter 2

Deep within the Skywing territory, inside of a smaller mountain, a cave was being used for something much different than a Skywing base.

Kestrel hissed furiously at a cowering blue-green dragon, her brilliantly red scales seeming to glow with an inner light. The smaller dragon opened his mouth as if to speak, but a murderous glare from orange eyes shut him up. Curls of smoke escaped from her nostrils, accompanied by the _hiss_ of fire breath. The Skywing roared in frustration.

"You mean to tell me," She said threateningly, her red horns glinting. She bared her sharp fangs far too much to be normal. "That when I very specifically told you to find another Skywing egg to replace the broken one, you thought it'd be best to grab a RAINWING?!"

The dragon shrunk closer in on itself, a weak luminescent light flashing on his tail three times.

"There's no right answer to that question." A sandy colored dragon said wryly, walking in slowly. Black horns curled above his head before shooting back like a sword. He favored his left leg, which was only slightly more than a stump. His face wincing slightly every time he put weight on it. He used a thick tail that ended in a barb to keep his balance. His face, though, was full of nothing but open-ended honesty.

"The five eggs are ready, sitting by the fire. They're definitely ready to crack open. The Mudwing's already shaking." He repeated in a louder voice, his black eyes flicking from the downed Seawing to the furious Kestrel. "We just need Tundra to bring the Icewing." He twitched his tail, drawing it closer to wrap neatly around his hind legs. The barb rattled softly on the stone floor.

The red dragon roared again at Webs, a burst of liquid fire shooting out from her jaws and slamming into the wall across from her. A wave of heat flooded the room, making Webs flinch. The fire scorched the rock, leaving a thick black mark.

Kestrel abruptly left the blue dragon, striding with her wings stiff past the Sandwing into the room beyond. Her whole form radiates frustration.

The dragon looked curiously at the Seawing, head cocking almost innocently to one side. "Did I… _miss_ anything?" He added suggestively, waggling his right wing. "Are you getting lucky, Webs?"

Webs choked, his thin body doubling over as he pushed himself to his webbed feet. "Dune!" He croaked, his voice hoarse. "Don't _do_ that!"

The Sandwing's throaty laughter followed him as Webs darted off to find Kestrel, the scales on his cheeks burning.

Another dimly light passage and soon he was passing a dark spot, several glowing strips by his eyes lighting up to help him see the way. They made an eery green glow that made strange, whirling shadows across the walls. They were dim, but seeable.

He still stumbled at least twice.

The flaming red dragon was standing by the open door to their cave, the giant boulder that kept them safe rolled carefully away. The night breeze ruffled his wings, and the stars were brilliant. The forest was dark, with the buzz of crickets loud against the peace.

"Kestrel!" Webs hissed. "We need to close it! No Skywings can see us!" He darted right next to her, his claws already reaching out to grab the stick to pull the boulder back. His eyes darted over to her, desperation filling them.

"Webs." The Skywing's voice was peculiarly soft, carrying a strange undercurrent of worry. It was a far claw from where she had been moments before, and Webs could feel the scales on his back prickle with fear. _What had gotten into her?_

"When has Tundra ever been late?"

Webs stopped short, his arm freezing. The stock was within his grasp, but now his mind was racing, shooting to conclusions he was liking less and less. He thought back and back and back to everything that he had ever done with the admittedly speedy Icewing. "Never," He finally said. "I've never seen him late in my entire life." _Come on, Kestrel! Come back inside!_

"The moons will finish rising in just a few hours, Webs," Kestrel said, tracing a red claw on the trail of the shining silver orbs. Webs could almost see an after image, a burning path of flame from moon to moon. "He agreed to be back well before now." She turned to face him, her face blank but her eyes glowing.

"Do you think we could do it? Without Tundra?"

Webs froze. His mind raced.

It was no secret that Kestrel hated Icewings with a burning passion, from something deep within her past. He could still remember the day Tundra had joined them.

She had been frozen, fire dropping from her maw when the Talons of Peace decided that they would be paired with an Icewing. Her claws had left gouges in the stone that were still there, probably forever.

 _If you only had five dragonets you three could do it_ were their words. _But six is too much. Tundra will be joining you._ Then a surly Icewing had been shoved in their midst with no warning, only a couple of days to finish getting the cave ready.

The companionship between her and Tundra had been strained at best, but at worst they would fight, letting loose horrible deep cries as they tore at each other, fire breath and frost death outlining their howling forms.

The next day they would ignore the other, often going to great lengths to avoid being in the same room. Kestrel was worse, but both were bad. Webs was just glad that there wasn't a Nightwing here. With all this tension, Kestrel - or Tundra, he added dryly - would have killed them already.

"Yes," Webs said carefully. "But we need him to bring the Icewing egg. All will be lost without it."

"Not _all_ , Webs." She said, her face uncaring but her voice soft. "If we can do this with a Rainwing for a Skywing, we don't need to have an Icewing, do we?"

He winced. He imagined a young Icewing exposed to Kestrel, forced to live under constant bullying and even torture that her anger would bring. The fear that that dragonet would have could infect the others, making them hate everything to do with their guardians. Then those dragons making the choice of the Queen?

It would not be good.

"I think we could do it," Webs said. His claws shook, his horns ached, and his back burned but he still agreed, ignoring every sign that this was a bad idea. "We could make it work."

 _After all, the Icewing's life would be much worse here._

But maybe Webs wasn't quite as right as he thought.

Miles away, a black shape stood over the downed body of a pale white Icewing, dark blue blood dripping hideously slowly from the slits in its neck. Its blue eyes were frozen open, fear and panic in the full blown irises that would never close again. The shimmering wings lay useless on the ground, twisted and broken. The black dragon looked carelessly down at it, before snorting and turning away.

Morrowseer hissed in disapproval at the navy blood coating his claws. He sunk them into the snow drift nearest to him and watch with satisfaction as they returned to him much cleaner. He wiped them through the frozen snow several times, just to be safe.

The Icewing twitched, just the tiniest bit, and Morrowseer casually used a clawed foot and shoved the corpse away, making it roll once before stopping several feet from him. A thin stream of blue blood marketed its passing.

He stretched, extending his wings to their fullest extent before curling them back up and pressing them to his sides. He took a quick look around, searching for any approaching dragons. Seeing none, Morrowseer glanced down to have a look at his prize.

He smiled wickedly.

He stooped over, his wings spread to keep his balance in the frigid place. His claws reached for something just out of the dead Icewing's grasp.

A shimmering silver egg, perfectly oval and shining. It seemed to bask in the light of the rising moons, like a moon itself. Tiny starbursts could be seen, cracks spreading like spiderwebs.

Morrowseer picked it up rather delicately, clutching it in both talons. He turned it slowly, checking critically for any life altering damages or cracks. Seeing none, he snorted a puff of white mist into the air, curling around his muzzle before disappearing into the cold air. He slid the egg into a small, ready-made pouch that was slung over his chest, carefully making sure it didn't make itself _too_ uncomfortable for him. Seconds later, the egg was tucked safely inside, the weight light and almost unnoticeable. He took a few steps, checking his balance. It was fine.

He smiled. They were one step closer to bringing Blister and himself to the rulers of the land.

And with that, he crouched and threw himself into the air.

A black shape detached itself from the dark sky, gliding down with scales that looked like the night itself. A few light beats of wings splattered with silver and it was lined up perfectly with the ground. It landed with a soft _thump_ on the hard packed soil, carefully settling on its hind legs first.

Morrowseer shook from the neck down, taking great pleasure in watching tiny flecks of water soar off his scales. The clouds were wet today, which meant rain.

And a soaked dragon.

The egg shifted, and he groaned but stopped shaking, the rattles of his prize cooling against his scales. He flicked his thick tail once more to clear the last of the water, before settling more comfortably and facing forward.

He scrutinized the sight before him, his black eyes keen. His night vision was better than most dragons, but nothing was perfect. Soon he was adjusted to the dim light from the three moons rising slowly.

A towering mountain, complete with several small streams and waterfalls and a depression that looked almost like a cave, but was too shallow. He smirked at it, his lips twisting.

Just big enough to avoid, but small enough to make others lose interest.

Perfect.

He curved his neck around, looking down at the bag across his chest. It was small, but still the perfect size for its precious cargo. A tiny glint of silver shone in the rising moonlight. His grin widened, before slipping off his face easily.

Morrowseer yawned mightily before striding forward, his claws sinking a bit too deeply for his tastes into the fresh mud. With a sigh, he spread his wings and took off, soaring closer to the mountain and the secrets it held.

He landed lightly in the depression, the tiny roof sinking the space into an inky black. He swiped his claws around on the stone, searching quickly.

He gave up and pounded his talons against the rock.

A second passed. Morrowseer's face began to twist downwards.

The stone ever-so-slowly began to glide open, the sound of grating rocks muffled to avoid attention. The hisses and crackles of a fire reached his ears, and a soft orange light began to filter from the opening. The passageway gave off a feeling of ice, from thousands of pounds of cold stone surrounding everything to the flickering shadows.

He shouldered past the moving rock and stepped inside, his claws clicking on the stone. He stopped once he was barely inside, noting with satisfaction as the door began to immediately slide back. He flicked his tail out of the way, before looking around, making sure to look nonthreatening.

A black shape peeled itself off the dark wall and strode towards him, slowly revealing wings and a tail.

Another Nightwing, though this one was smaller than him.

It was male, with curving black horns, and had a peculiar pattern of orange-red stones outlining his wings, like imprints of flame. His black eyes gleamed with an inner light.

Duskfire smiled toothily at him.

A voice echoed from somewhere to his right. "You're late." It hissed, soft and deadly.

Morrowseer turned toward it, his face neutral. But he broke into a grin when he saw the dragon beside him.

A lithe, dark golden form, with a whip-thin tail ending in a poisonous barb that rattled on the floor like a snake. Twin black horns were as sharp as any daggers, and polished claws gleamed like swords. And two little diamonds framed onyx black eyes like stars.

Morrowseer's smile widened.

"Hello, _Cobra_." He purred back.

* * *

 **Couldn't resist! Here's a new chapter!**

 **So now the story is beginning to take form, and the characters are starting to be revealed!**

 **So, I have a little challenge for you people! If you can guess the egg's name, (It's an Icewing, by the way) then you can earn a preview of the next chapter! Guess now!**

 **So please review your name guess!**

 **Or just review. Either one, please.**

 **Frost OUT!**


	3. Chapter 3

The night was frighteningly dark, with no light from the hidden moons. The tallest mountain laid itself to rest, the final hint of the sunset slipping from its surface. Clouds broiled on the sky, cutting off the light from any star brave enough to shown tonight. Even the crickets were muted as if they were waiting for something.

Unfortunately, those inside the mountain had no idea of that.

"What are you doing?" Hissed a golden Sandwing, her barbed tail rising threateningly. Her face was stone cold, but her eyes were flooded with fury. Her claws scratched across the rough rock floor, the sound wince-worthy. Her glittering black gaze was fixed on the tip of a white tail that could be seen poking out from between two rocks, barely visible in the flickering light.

Though it seemed impossible, the tail disappeared farther into its hiding spot, the owner completely hidden from view. The tiny scratching sounds of stone against scales went silent, and even the quiet breaths were gone. There was a pregnant pause, one that the golden dragon couldn't handle for another second.

"Duskfire!" The Sandwing roared, her voice dripping with anger. The black diamonds next to her eyes seem to shine with reflected rage. The barb on her tail flexed and uncurled, twitching nearer and nearer to the hidden tail. A second passed that was much too long.

A black shape slunk from the gaping passage that was at the corner of the small room, his dark sales seeming to suck the light from the room. He breathed out a tiny tongue of flame, letting a golden glow accompany him for just a second. The light reflected off of the red jewels pressed on between his wing scales.

"Yes?" His voice was dull, but there was an undercurrent filled with pain and rage that would send other dragons flying. "What is it now, Cobra?" He shrugged his wings back, pressing them loosely to his sides without care. But his black eyes were alert, having checked the room for all threats before entering. His claws were pressed tightly to the ground, script Hong softly against the surface.

Cobra pointed with one golden claw to the two rocks, and the barest hint of white poking from between them.

The Nightwing paused, before smiling slightly. But the expression on his lips didn't match the sudden flow of fury that the sight of white scales brought to his eyes. A silent hiss seemed on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't make a sound.

He slowly started forward, making sure to muffle his claws from the stone floor. His tail lifted, hovering inches above the ground. His wings were frozen stiff, not revealing any sounds. Even his breath was silent.

It was like watching a ghost when Duskfire worked like that. He moved slowly, but you would never know he was there until he was on top, his claws poised to strike, and you were dead.

Cobra shivered, though the lack of heat had nothing to do with it. Her keen eyes narrowed further, black surfaces flicking over the Nightwing's body.

Duskfire stopped when he was inches from the rock, still as quiet as the night. His onyx scales seemed to make him disappear. He reached down with head, baring his wickedly sharp teeth out to open air. His eyes flared with grim satisfaction as he bared his fangs at the silver scales.

A quick flash of black and Duskfire shot his head back up, a thin silver tail grasped tightly between his fangs. He bit down harder, the sound echoing through the cavern.

A pained yelp echoed through the cavern, and a writhing Icewing of brilliant silver exploded from between the rocks, being supported by only her tail. She clawed heedlessly, but could not reach past her wings to reach the Nightwing. She shouted unheard cries, her eyes full of panic and pain. Duskfire grinned viciously around her whip-like tail, though his eyes had grown dull when a thin drop of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

 _This dragon cannot be raised like the others._

Duskfire let her hang for one more second before spitting out the silver tail. Four puncture wounds leaked a dark blue blood that stained Duskfire's front fangs. He grinned their tainted lengths, his eyes alight with satisfaction.

The Icewing shot back to her feet, her fangs bared and her large wings spread. Her tail, still leaking blood, whipped back to wrap around her hind legs, hidden from sight. She hissed, but the sound was weak from her young age. She barely came up Duskfire's chest.

 _She must learn that she has to follow you or face the consequences._

Cobra snarled, her tail flicking slowly in the air, her barb catching the dim light. The scorpion tail that held the most dangerous weapon for all Sandwings. Her wings grew almost painfully stiff, spread out to make her look much, much bigger.

The Icewing growled back, her serrated claws screeching against the floor. Her bright blue eyes were slits, but her body was quivering. Whether in rage or pain, it was impossible to tell.

 _You will do anything to make sure that she chooses Blister._

Duskfire looked at her almost contemptuously, before raising one of his black wings and smacking her over the horns.

She yelped loudly, tumbling to the rough ground. She landed painfully on one of her hind legs, exposing her throat as she rolled. Duskfire settled one of his powerful front claws across her neck and steadily applied pressure. She froze, her body stilling faster than Cobra had ever seen. Duskfire's eyes darkened further and he pressed harder, eliciting a choked gasp.

 _She must rather die than choose another._

She sucked in a wheezed breath, her arms starting to push feebly against Duskfire's claws futily. Her silver face was wide with panic, her wings thrashing and landing solidly on the rocks. Cobra winced.

"Duskfire." She said warningly, her pitch black eyes fixed solidly on his gleaming ones. He simply nodded, though his eyes never left the Icewing's body. He lifted his front leg, releasing the young dragonet from his clutches.

 _She must not enjoy her stay with you. Force her to think that Blister would change this._

She collapsed deeper on the ground, her throat flexing as she sucked in deep, frenzied breaths as if her life depended on it. She rolled over, pressing her weaker stomach scales hard against the stone. Her eyes flicked nervously between Cobra and Duskfire, their blue irises full blown.

Cobra sucked in a deep breath, her own throat aching. "So." She said darkly. "What was _that_?" Her gaze was fixed directly on the cowering Icewing.

 _I do not care what you have to do. Just do it._

Duskfire coughed amusedly, a tongue of brilliant red flame slipping from his lips and roaring into existence above the Icewing's sensitive scales, lighting the cavern in blinding detail.

Blue eyes rolled back up in their sockets, and the silver dragonet fell boneless to the stone floor below, completely knocked out. The heat had been the last straw.

"Duskfire!" Cobra hissed, her anger growing fiercer by the second.

"What?" He said innocently, his eyes dancing with grim flames. "I'm sure Khione will learn next time, now."

He turned and stalked out, his black form slipping in effortlessly to the shadows until he was just another darken shape. Cobra was left alone, her rage melting like ice.

 _This dragon will hate you, for the short amount of her days. But you will win the war. That is worth it a thousand times over._

Kestrel looked in disgust at the lithe form accompanied with a thin tail and strong fangs. She would have been happy if the dragonet in question wasn't quickly shifting through wild and exotic colors and been a scarlet red.

The Rainwing squeaked happily as a larger brown dragonet snuck up her, amber eyes glinting joyously. He pounced, carefully batting her curled tail between his front legs. She laughed and jumped on his back, eliciting an "Oof!" from the Mudwing. They were wondrously happy playing.

 _Did they not understand? They are to save the world!_

"Glory!" A dark blue dragonet charged in, her thick tail dripping with water. It swished on the floor, spraying drops all over the floor. She tackled the now yellow dragonet and they rolled around on the floor, shrieking with joy.

"Tsunami!" The Mudwing complained. "I was playing with Glory!" The Seawing stuck her tongue out, smugly leading the Rainwing farther away from him.

 _Here they are, squabbling like common dragons._

A dragonet with scales of liquid night poked his head out from behind another rock passage, his face disgruntled. "Can you three keep it down? This scroll is interesting enough without other dragons trying to distract me!"

"Aw, Starflight!" The ocean blue dragon cooed sarcastically. "Don't be such a worrywart! We're just having some fun!"

The Nightwing grunted in dissatisfaction and popped back inside his cave, grumbling quietly under his breath.

 _One who can't fight, one the wrong dragon, another missing…_

A tiny yellow form charged into the room, even smaller wings flapping excitedly. "Guys! Guys! Look what I found!"

"What, Sunny?" The Mudwing said, stretching his wings up as far as he could go and trotting slowly over to her.

"It's one of Webs scales! See, look how pretty and blue it is!" Tsunami perked up at the sound of her favorite guardian's name and sped over, dragging a curious Glory with her.

"Oh!" Glory said. "It _is_ really cool!"

 _Laughing over things of no importance._

Tsunami cocked her head to one side, claws shooting out to bat at the scale. Her dark blue eyes darted from the scale to her own body, as if comparing. Sunny shooed her claws away, prompting Tsunami to roll her eyes but step back.

"But that's not all! Clay, could you flip it over?" Sunny said quickly, her voice growing higher and higher. Her black eyes flickered excitedly.

Clay laughed slightly and obliged, reaching one claw out to flick the scale over. It gave a solid ring as it collided with the stone floor.

"See! It's this cool white color!" The Sandwing said, her form radiating smugness. "I found something pretty on _both_ sides! Take that, Tsunami!"

The Seawing choked, her face flaming. "W-what?!" She took another step back, eyes narrowing defensively. "Now you see here-"

 _Teasing each other. What heroes are these?_

Glory leaned down to inspect it closer, cutting off Tsunami. "It looks awesome! Kinda like an Icewing, right?"

"Oh!" Sunny perked up. "Glory, do the thing!"

The Rainwing snorted but stared closer at the underside of the scale. Her wings fluttered before she trapped them to her sides.

It started at her tail, moving slowly. Pure white bled in like Glory was being covered in paint, spreading up her body and wings. Seconds later, a snow colored Rainwing stood where a purple one had just been.

Kestrel choked. The dragonet shifted in the Skywing's vision until she was taller, stronger, more blue. The dragon turned his head confusedly toward Kestrel, but all she could see was a diamond shaped head with eyes full of mischief.

Then she blinked and it was gone. Glory was still looking at her with her head cocked to one side.

Kestrel snarled at her, smoke leaking from her jaw. The Rainwing yelped and turned back to the group.

The red Skywing turned and stalked from the group, her wings stiff. An image danced within her mind, like rain pounding on her scales.

 _Tundra._

The world erupted back into life as Morrowseer exploded out of the clouds, his black wings batting away curls of gray mist. He soared toward the blinding white ground of land, the snow piling up in whirling patterns.

He glided quickly past ice buildings, carved openings that served as windows. The giant Tree of Light shot up in front of him, and he cupped his silver speckled wings and swerved. He beat them a few times, rising steadily to land softly on a balcony carved from the purest of ice.

He was not alone.

A towering Icewing, almost the same height as him, stood there, white scales gleaming. A single ring of diamonds adorned both of her horns, glinting like fire. Her cold expression matched with her stony eyes seemed to lower the temperature of the room.

And she was waiting for him.

"Queen." He said, inclining his head.

"Morrowseer." She said cooly, her neck curving downwards ever-so-slightly. "Do you want it now?"

His face began to twist upward, exposing teeth as sharp as knives that filled his entire mouth. Gleaming satisfaction filled his eyes.

"Oh _yes_ ," he purred.

* * *

 **Subplots, subplots, subplots! Oh how dearly I love my subplots!**

 **Sorry for the long wait; I had my first performance with my professional Orchestra, let me tell you about nerve wracking! So hope you enjoy; expect another chapter soon!**

 **And unfortunately, no one got Khione's name! I guess it was a** _ **bit**_ **different than most suspect; I might've walked into that one.**

 **Oops.**

 **Read and review!**

 **Frost OUT!**


	4. Chapter 4

A glittering Icewing of a pure white hue landed within the depth of the forest, the dark greens and browns shading and covering her obvious color. An equally large black dragon landed much harder than she had, shaking birds from their nests.

Queen Glacier shot Morrowseer a look of disgust. He held his front talons up in the universal sign of peace, his eyes glowing with no regret.

She shook her neck, the thick plating of Icewing scales rattling against each other. Her blue-gray eyes blazed in the darkness, and her tail whipped from side to side. It was much too warm here for her tastes.

"Easy, Queen," Morrowseer said casually, starting off again, this time on claw. He shouldered past broken branches and logs, careful to avoid the worst of the mud. The Queen followed but at a much more sedate pace.

Morrowseer felt the satchel around his chest bump harshly against his scaled chest. He winced but smiled wickedly. His prize was worth pain.

Queen Glacier growled as another broken twig attempted to spear her between her scales. With a roar of frustration, she snapped her giant wings out and broke through the roof of the forest. With a single beat, she soared blindingly fast in the same direction that they had been walking.

Morrowseer paused when he heard the roar. When no other sounds of any other dragon came after, he quickly whipped his head around. All that was left of the Icewing Queen was a broken log.

" _Moons_!" He swore, spreading his wings and quickly pushing off the slippery ground. He would be hardpressed to catch up to her now.

It was strange, how fast Icewings were in the air. While nothing could beat Skywings, the Icewings were a close second. They had wings much too large for their bodies that were the perfect shape for fending off and catching winds, speeding them forward and keeping them on track when others would be blown away.

It was curious, because Icewings did not spend much time on the air as the other tribes, yet they were one of the best suited for it. Morrowseer shook the thought from his head and beat his wings harder against the slight down current.

He spotted the white form against the blue sky and sped up even more, snapping his wings against the air. He cupped his wings and caught the tail of an updraft, flinging himself ungracefully high into the clouds. He stretched his wings out and dived, keeping to the current to propel him further.

Soon he was directly next to the Queen, where she was comfortably gliding along, her snowy wings outstretched. He frowned in displeasure. Her smug grin widened.

"So, Morrowseer." She said, her voice still the same frigid cold. "Where is this mysterious hiding place that you have told me so many stories about?"

The Nightwing curved his wings back and darted down, shooting toward the towering mountain. Queen Glacier let out a roar and dived with him, her eyes alight. She shot past him, her normally stern appearance dropped as she obviously sped up to beat him, landing neatly in the depression that held Morrowseer's greatest secret.

He landed behind her, squeezing slightly past her still outstretched wings that she flicked back to their position to her sides. He extended one black claw and felt carefully around the edges, perfectly aware of the Icewing not-so-subtly glancing over his shoulder to see where the opening was.

Finally, his claw snagged on a tiny hole, and he carefully reached inside and pushed to the left. The boulder groaned, before starting to roll slowly over to reveal a dark but still lit cavern that could fit a half dozen dragons. He stepped inside, before turning to let Queen Glacier through.

Cobra stood there, her poisonous barb tucked underneath her body, hiding it from sight. Her black eyes flickered with bored interest, but they did widen slightly when the large Icewing walked in.

Morrowseer sat back on his haunches, his tail curling around his legs. He flexed his wings, letting them flare out once before returning them to his sides.

"Duskfire?" He asked, his voice much colder than it had been with just the Queen. She, also, appeared to be carved from ice with her haughty position and cold eyes.

The Nightwing is question stepped slowly into the room, his claws silent. Being herded into the room by a firm grip on her wings was a tiny Icewing barely old enough to be called a dragonet, with an undersized body and silver scales. Morrowseer didn't miss the flash of pure anger and loathing when Duskfire's gaze snapped on the fully grown Icewing.

The Icewing's eyes flashed in almost recognition when they landed ok Duskfire but she turned away.

"Ah," said Queen Glacier coldly. "So _this_ is our little missing dragonet. Did you name her something drastic and horrible, Morrowseer?"

"My name is Khione!" The Icewing hissed, her voice a bit too high and squeaky to be frightening. She tore her wing free of Duskfire's grip and took several steps away, before copying Morrowseer and sitting back on her hind legs. Her tail swung around to lay in front of her, the whip-thin end rustling endlessly.

 _Hold up your deal, Queen._

The Queen sat up quickly and strode over to her, her tail flicked idly. She looked at the large silver wings, the diamond shaped head, and took a particular interest in her hind legs. Khione stood there, her face growing more and more disgusted as the Queen studied her like a bug.

"Not bad." She said finally, stepping back. "You haven't completely failed in raising it. A bit weak, though."

Khione snarled, almost physically attacking the Queen. Instead, she settled for setting her on fire with the rage in her dark blue eyes.

Queen Glacier turned her perfect head toward Morrowseer, her expression cooling. But the Nightwing couldn't miss the flash of pain that shot across her eyes. "Do you still have it, or did you manage to lose it in the five minutes I gave it to you?" She asked, and Morrowseer almost congratulated her on her acting skills, though the barb at him was sharp.

He dipped his head, shuffling his wings out of the way to reveal the small bag banging against his chest. He slowly untied it, his claws deftly picking out the complicated knots. He handed the limp sack to her.

She pried open the opening and reached her claw inside, her face blank. Khione stared curiously at the bag, but he body was still tense and her wings were stiff.

Queen Glacier pulled her talons back out, clutching a manacle.

It was a perfectly smooth silver piece of artwork, still open and elegantly crafted. The only sign of a lock was a small spiral depression near one end. She held it up, her eyes searching every angle of it for irregularities. Then she twisted her head to the only other Icewing in the room.

Khione snarled out in absolute rage. Her whole body sprang up, falling comfortably into a steady battle position. It was then that a large scar across the tip of her tail came into view, one that she could have only gotten from a bite wound.

The Queen barely blinked, but Morrowseer could _feel_ her muscles tensing up and her wings stiffening.

Cobra straightened and her barbed tail flew out of hiding, carefully angling toward the irate Icewing. "Duskfire!" Morrowseer barked, his voice hard.

The Nightwing peeled himself from the shadows, appearing with eyes and talons aglow. He took a quick glance around the room, instantly checking for all threats and escape routes. Then his eyes fell on the snarling Icewing. He started toward her but paused when Khione did something unheard of.

The Icewing had obviously seen the Nightwing coming; he wasn't nearly as silent as he normally was. But she kept her furious gaze on Queen Glacier and bared her fangs. She arched her back, her enormous wings snapping out with an audible _crack_ and spreading as far as they could. She raised her head, horns perfectly angled back and _hissed_.

Morrowseer stifled a gasp. The position was perfect, despite her small size. Wings out, back arched, teeth bared; nothing was wrong. But it was what she was doing that scared him.

Khione, a dragonet raised under a mountain, was _challenging the Queen._

Duskfire struck, slamming his powerful tail into her legs and snatching her wings with his fangs. His hind legs ripped into her side, forcing her down onto her side.

Khione cried out only once, falling forcefully down on her right side. Her wings were held high, twisted at an unnatural angle. Her side exploded into pain as Duskfire's sharp claws dug neatly past her still weak scales.

She laid there, blood the color of her dark blue eyes leaking from her wing and sides. Her breaths came uneven and short, but she did not move, even when Duskfire released her wing and took a single step back. Her eyes were squeezed shut.

The Nightwing shot Morrowseer a quick glance, his onyx eyes still blazing but confused. He gave a tiny nod, and Duskfire nodded back and stepped away, purposely turning his back to the Icewing Queen.

Queen Glacier was frozen, her eyes wide. She had been challenged once; never again. The dragon was extremely skilled, having trained her whole life to be Queen until her cousin, Glacier, took over. The fight had been short but bloody, with her emerging completely victorious.

But now here, a tiny, untrained Icewing who knew next to nothing on Icewing customs, felt safer challenging the Queen rather than submitting to her guardians.

What was going _on_ in this cave?

Morrowseer delicately reached up and grabbed the manacle from the shellshocked Queen's talons. He could not deal with her not upholding her side of the bargain from emotions.

He walked over to the fallen dragonet, gesturing to Duskfire as he moved. The other Nightwing strode quickly over to Khione, and with a single clawed foot, flipped her upon her back, crushing her wings until they splayed out on either side.

Queen Glacier shook herself, freeing her mind from the scavenger hole it had been traveling down. She stared with slitted eyes as Duskfire kicked over an Icewing dragonet, one of her _subjects_. Her eyes darkened to almost complete gray.

Morrowseer leaned down back the dragonet's left hind leg, reaching out with the manacle. Carefully, he slid it over her clawed leg and held it by her ankle, slowly pressing the two ends together. They let out a harsh _click_ , closing over her silver scales.

"Queen Glacier?" He said, his voice formal. It would not be good to upset her now, after watching Duskfire.

The enormous Icewing looked slowly at him with dead eyes. Her gray irises flickered with something he couldn't pick out.

She stepped carefully over to him, taking obvious lengths to avoid the dragonet's wings. She twisted her neck to stare at the metal band wrapped around her ankle, before staring at Morrowseer with a strange, cold eyes full of dead emotions. It was eery. She was hiding thoughts before they even considered showing on her face.

He took several steps back, watching cautiously.

Queen Glacier stood by the Icewing - _Khione_ \- and examined the manacle. The Gift of Containment; why did she give one to a Nightwing? No matter the reward.

A slow smile spread within her thoughts, not showing on her face. She could help stop Morrowseer, if only slightly.

She inserted her front claw in the depression in the metal, watching carefully for Morrowseer's reaction. She knew that he had done the best research he could on it, but the secrets passed on from generation of Queens to the next would not be shared outside of the royal bloodline. So she would play like a Nightwing to win a Nightwing's game.

She twisted her talon quickly to the right, dragging the metal with it. A small _click_ echoed from within the metal, and she withdrew her claw and stepped back. But she was not done. Quickly her touched the tip of her talon to one of the diamonds hanging from her horn. It glowed a brilliant silver, before instantly dying down. This time, a real grin spread over her face.

Morrowseer watched with concern as the Queen of Icewings stepped back, her face smug before it was wiped away. She had hid her actions; what did she do?

He stepped out of the way, let her leave through the still open opening to the outside. He shot a look at Cobra, who thankfully remembered what he had told her and followed the Queen, making sure she left the territory without contacting any other dragons.

Then he sprang forward, grabbing a hold of the manacle on the dragonet's leg. The depression had popped out, forming a half-loop where chains or ropes could be attached. This was an animus touched gift; made perfectly for containing prisoners.

Nothing looked wrong or out of place, so he let his concern fade slowly away. He glanced at Duskfire.

"Take her back to her room, don't hurt her at all. You _will_ leave moss on her wounds." Morrowseer commanded, his voice dark and gravelly. The Nightwing nodded, reaching out to grab the tail of the Icewing. Seconds later he disappeared, the still silver form following him.

"I have somewhere to be." He said to the empty room, before shooting out of the cave, exploding into the sky.

 **Hello again! Here's another update!**


	5. Chapter 5

Five dragonets were carefully lined up, from Mudwing to Seawing. They were fidgeting, the Nightwing sending hopeful glances at the small entrance to the cave on the other side of the cavern. They barely came up to Kestrel's back, though they were almost full grown, their wings short and their claws stubby. The Rainwing yawned, sneakily placing half of her wait on the Mudwing next to her.

Webs paced nervously by the door, his powerful tail swishing roughly on the ground. His blue horns seemed extremely sharp as they cut through the air when the Seawing shook his head.

Dune was standing by the other exit in the room, his posture much more relaxed than Webs. His mangled wing still trailed uselessly behind him, but his head was up and his black eyes were calm.

The boulder rumbled, shaking the ground like an earthquake. The dragonets, the Nightwing in particular, were shifting quickly, twisting their necks to get a better view of the growing opening. Tiny claws scrabbled over uneven rock as they leaned over each other.

A flash of light before the entrance was swallowed by blackness, a huge dragon stepping through into the cavern. He was enormously tall, with scales that were only black on black on black. But his wings, his wings that spread out behind him like a wall, were splattered with silver. His black eyes flicked with careful boredom.

The Mudwing stifled a gasp, before his face filled with a strange concentration. He appeared to be attempting to not stare openly. The Seawing shot a quick glance at the Nightwing dragonet, before glancing back to the behemoth in the doorway. Her expression portrayed shock.

"Welcome, Morrowseer." Dune said, his attention snapping back to the dragon.

Morrowseer slowly turned his head toward the Sandwing, dipping his wings in a shallow greeting. His black eyes swiveled back to the dragonets, his face curiously blank.

Pale green slipped in between the Rainwing's dark blue scales, but her currently violet eyes showed nothing but polite curiosity. Even Kestrel had to admit that was good control.

He stared at them all, only showing the barest hint of interest in the Rainwing. He turned his head to the golden dragon who been apparently elected spokesperson.

"No Icewing?" His voice was cold, but there was none of the undercurrents of rage and excitement that had been there when he brought the Nightwing egg and told them their task.

Dune blinked once, his black eyes eerily similar to the Nightwing's. "The dragon tasked with bringing the egg was… _stopped_." He said carefully, avidly watching for Morrowseer's reaction.

The swelling of wings and lashings of the black tail were muted, almost as if the Nightwing was forcing himself to do it.

"Very well." His gaze flicked once more to the Rainwing, but he said nothing. He suddenly turned to the dragonets and _smiled_.

It was horrible.

His lips peeled back to expose rows upon rows of dagger sharp teeth, each tip tinted a faint red. Oddly, his front fangs had more of a blue tint.

The dragonets yelped, the Mudwing throwing himself back and spreading his wings over a tiny Sandwing and the Rainwing. The Seawing bared his tiny teeth at the NIghtwing, but her dark blue eyes were wide.

But the Rainwing shoved the brown wing away, carefully sidestepping it. Her scales were flicking wildly through colors, but her face stayed impassive. Morrowseer grinned evilly down at her, his eyes alight with burning excitement.

Suddenly, every scale on her body turned a snowy white.

Morrowseer's face snapped close, the smile dying as fast as it had come. His eyes were filled with a single second of panic.

It was small. It was short. It was gone the next moment.

But it was enough for the Rainwing to catch it.

Her scales bubbled into a warm honey gold, her lips pulling up into a slight smile. Then she turned tail and walked away, her small wings carefully tucked by her sides.

The guardians were later told that they had to kill the Rainwing, or the prophecy would fail.

"Glory!" hissed Tsunami. The whorls underneath her dark blue wings flashed horrifically fast, enough to give any dragon a headache. But the smug little Rainwing was simply curled up on her pile of leaves, her scales still the happy yellow. "What was that?"

Glory simply raised her wings, an efficient shield blocking her from the other dragonets.

The Seawing would not accept that.

"You have to tell us!" The fuming dragonet said. "We have to know!"

"We have to leave." Glory dead panned, dropping her wings.

She was met with only dumbfounded looks from the others. Glory sighed.

"They're going to kill us. They hate me because I'm not a Skywing, we don't have an Icewing; what use are we to them?"

The other dragonets gaped at her, shocked and rightly so.

"We will die if we stay here," Glory said softly, tucking her head underneath her darkening wing.

The second that Khione had woken up, her dark blue eyes had darted to her hind legs.

She had frozen, her rustling wings stilling and her face slowly growing more and more horrified as she looked at the silver band of metal strapped around her ankle. It glimmered softly in the torchlight, shining for all to see.

And then she had lunged at it, her fangs bared.

They had bounced off, the hard surface unharmed. But she simply swung her head back around and tried to sink her teeth around it, succeeding in wrapping her front fangs around the top edge.

But though she had pulled and pulled, the silver manacle remained stuck heavily to her leg.

Khione then took the moment to examine her surroundings, which he did have to note as good. Her eyes picked apart the shadows opposite from him.

Evidently finding nothing, the lone little Icewing went back to her new addition. She shook her leg, before pushing up to all fours.

The band seemed to weigh heavily on her, as she almost stumbled and fell. Her wings zipped out either side to catch her, and then she was standing. Unsteady, but standing. She peered over the rest of herself, catching sight of the neatly stitched claw wounds running up and down her flank that were carefully tucked full of cobwebs, and her wing had a thin bandage wrapped around the point where he had bit it.

Her growl was still high, but it was significantly better than the one she had given him when she had only just hatched out of her egg.

She stared at it, her eyes darkening even further. Her wings snapped back to her side, folding up neatly.

She lowered her head to it, pushing her nose only inches from it. She seemed to hesitate for just a moment, before her eyes locked onto the silver metal.

Her jaw snapped open, tiny ice crystals forming on her fangs. A resounding _hiss_ broke through the cavern.

It was now to blow his cover.

"Why, hello, dear Khione!" He peeked out of the darkness, his black scales seemingly to pull themselves into existence. Dark eyes glittered malevolently at her.

Khione had frozen, her head already whipped and pointed towards him. The frost crystals that had been forming grew stronger in number. She was preparing to fire her weak little frost breath at him.

He smiled wickedly down at her before firing a small burst of fire directly down her throat.

The Icewing reeled backwards, her eyes wide and panicked. Smoke trailed up, the rough smell of fire sizzling on the air.

He could see her mouth, opened as wide as it could go in hopes to catch a cold breeze. It was rather red.

"Good luck with that," Duskfire said triumphantly. His grin only grew as she pushed herself to her claws, still panting for air.

"You'll never break those, Icewing." He said, staring pointedly at the manacle attached to her hind leg. She shifted it behind her, teeth bared.

"This is an animus-touched present, known to the Icewings as the Gift of Containment." He looked at her expression as it shifted rapidly. "It is also known as a mark of treachery for any dragon."

He carried on, his voice growing steadily more and more into the rich tone he had always used stories for Cloudseeker. "Created as a present for the Queen of Icewings by her own daughter thousands of years ago, it was the last gift she could give before insanity."

Khione slunk deeper into the cave, pressing her tail against the wall as she increased the distance between them. A few steps from him ruined her progress.

"It can survive through a thousand hurricanes, a thousand floods, a thousand volcanoes, and never be hurt. Nothing can harm this gift other than that who made it."

"You know the special part?" He asked her softly, feeling his eyes light up. "It can never be removed. A mark of a traitor lasts forever."

She hisses furiously, her wings shooting back out to make her look bigger. It didn't work.

"It can grow or shrink to fit to any chain attached to it. Nothing can pull them apart until it is released." He grinned at her. "I do hope you enjoy it."

Her hiss died off, her eyes wide. He could practically see the thoughts darting through her head. Khione almost seemed to droop, shoulders hunching in on herself. Her eyes flicked over to the band over her hind leg, tucking it underneath her body to avoid it catching the light.

Her silver head darted up at him and she hissed, low and dark. Duskfire would never had left her after she had so blatantly threatened him, but his eyes caught sight of the traitor band and he could feel his eyes soften.

Khione was a traitor to the Icewings; she hadn't had anything to do with Cloudseeker. He simply nodded his head, a blank expression on his face. Tucking his black wings closer to his body, he spun around, turning his back to the angry Icewing. He almost threw himself to the shadows and slunk out of the now quiet room.

"Go, Tsunami!" Cried Clay, his brown claws pushing her closer towards the river. His heart seemed to want to pound right out of his scales, and his wings were stiff enough to hurt. The scales along his back prickled harshly, and his head darted from side to side to look out for their guardians.

"Shush, Clay!" She hissed back, her dark blue eyes gazing over the flowing water. It seemed much more dangerous today, the water racing over itself and shooting out of the cave. He felt himself shiver, his scales rattling softly.

Tsunami took a deep breath, several patterns on her sides flashing. They made the cave walls flicker in strange whorls, and the exit of the river glowed a pale green for a second. Clay felt his talons freeze, brown eyes staring at her.

And then she plunged into the water, her blue form blending in the deeper she went. She surfaced only once, turning around to wave at Clay, before she dived within the water to shoot away.

She was gone; off to free the Dragonets from this cave.

Clay stood there for a few seconds, watching the water dance around the rocks in its path. Claws clinked on the stone behind him, and he felt Sunny press up against him, her warm scales comforting. He leaned gently into her, making sure not to put too much of his much greater weight on her.

Soon they would be free.

From not very far at all, behind a thick mountain that was only one of an entire range, a waterfall rushing over the rocks. The distant roar of it was magnified for the black shape carefully perching near the edge.

It watched and watched, black eyes fixed on the mountain. It didn't move, didn't stray, only shifting to blink every few minutes.

But it had jumped back when a young blue dragonet exploded out of a waterfall. Wings flailing, deadened by a steady stream of powerful water, it had seemed to fall for a few seconds before catching itself, reeling back around to soar the way it had come. It's dark blue wings flapped once before settling out, stiff and unmoving. It glided, inexperienced body catching the updraft.

The black dragon watched it carefully, slowing picking itself off of the rock to stand on all fours. Its head twisted to continue to watch the dragon soaring towards the mountain it had just come from.

"Well," muttered Morrowseer. "This might be something to work with."

* * *

 **Here you go! Another chapter!**

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	6. Chapter 6

Over the years, along with size and strength, the main thing that Khione had gotten more of was scars.

Some were small ones from falling down or being hit with a rock. She had a tiny one on her foot from stepping on something sharp, and a multitude of fading ones that were formed by falling rocks on her back.

But most of them are a bit different from that.

Most of them were from Duskfire.

Claw marks, bite holes, deep bruises that never seemed to go away. They were cut or ripped into her, each from a different story in her life. Some were large, others smaller, but the ones that were on her currently were the ones that seemed to stay.

The one on her tail had swelled up and gotten more. Her tail was rather weak and a favorite of his; if he wanted to stop, hurt, or even just get her attention, her tail was the spot.

He wouldn't be Duskfire without having her weakest spot his favorite to bite.

But right now, with Morrowseer's keen black eyes studying her, the scars seemed the least of her worries.

"Will she survive?" He asked Cobra, not even making his voice soft enough so that she couldn't hear him clearly. She could feel her wings already to start to rustle. _Survive_ was not a word she liked to hear, especially since it was obviously about her.

"You know she won't die. I will keep her alive long enough to suit your needs. That was what you told me." The Sandwing sounded exasperated like she had already said this many times. Her barb was flicking idly on the ground, but her dark black eyes were narrowed.

"I want you there at all times. Even disguised; understand?" The Nightwing demanded, diamond shaped heading lowering to stare into Cobra's eyes. He towered over her, both in height and strength. His claws dug slightly into the stone ground, carving at the thousand-year-old rock.

"I will do that," Cobra answered dutifully, nodding her head. The diamonds surrounding her eyes caught the light and sparkled brightly, which did nothing to brighten the blank look in her eyes. She could have been thinking nothing if not for the fact her mouth was set in a thin line.

"Good." Morrowseer copied her motion, though his eyes were still concentrated and dark. "She's allowed to fight, but you will not let her die. The Queen is also not allowed to speak with her privately, under any circumstances."

Cobra raised one eyebrow but nodded all the same.

Morrowseer's eyes flicked over her silver form, eyes falling over the traitor's band. He twisted his neck to look at the dragon who Khione knew was directly behind her.

"Duskfire," he started with a careless gesture towards her with his talons. "Knock her out, will you?"

A crushing blow to her head and she knew no more.

A splitting headache hit her far before any other of her senses even started to piece together where she was.

She almost groaned, almost let a sign of her presence slip out, but she ripped it back and stayed frozen. She could feel her back pressed into the ground, her wings splayed out on either side. But the back of her head was pressed to something much, much softer than the stone she was used to.

It pressed against her scales, soft yet prickling. It was made of many different strands, so different than any rock or moss she knew of. It seemed to be flattened beneath her head, squished though she was not putting much weight on it.

She almost yelped when something feather soft brushed against her scales, caressing her horns and wings. But there was no force behind it, just a gentle pressure that felt like a breath. It carried heat with it, soft but still warming.

She stayed frozen, but she was starting to piece together a picture in her head. It did _not_ seem like she was still inside the mountain.

When she didn't hear anything for several more heartbeats, she seemed it safe enough to open her eyes. They were only cracked open slits until she caught what was in front of her, and then they opened as far as they could.

She saw the sky, a beautiful blue thing that swallowed up everything in her vision. There were tiny black spots against her that she could guess were birds, and the blue was brighter or darker in different spots. And then there were giant white things that were like cobwebs scattered across the sky. She knew what they were, having read about them before.

Clouds were all she could focus on.

At least until the orange Skywing leaned in closer, eyes bright and deranged.

"How thrilling!"

She had been chained to a tower atop of a crumbling castle.

Well.

It wasn't actually crumbling, or really breaking down in any way.

But up there, with sharp winds that she had never felt before scratching at her face and smells and sights and the overwhelming fear all around her, she might as well have been falling already.

There were clips that folded over her wings and pressed them to her side - _not nearly as bad as Duskfire, she had felt like mocking the guards who had smirked at her when they were putting them on_ \- and then wires wrapped around and around her legs. _They were soft, gentle, a hatchlings' bite_.

The wires cut into her scales, much stronger than her still developing silver scales. She had tried to position herself right in the middle to alleviate the pressure, but the pillar was made for dragons many times her size and she was forced to lay down, limbs splayed out on both sides of her.

The strong Skywing who had pinned her down introduced herself as Queen Scarlet, even though she was orange. Khione had almost felt the need to point that out, at least until the dragon had had several other, hidden Skywings jump out. She hasn't been able to put up any sort of fight. Her head ached and she had a Queen's claw wrapped around her throat, and she was _outside_ for the very first time and this was so, so _new_.

They had dragged her through the air into this place, where the Queen had been ever so excited, flying next to her the entire time. The trip had made her wings ache from where the dragons gripped them, and they had seemed to travel forever. She had tried fighting back for only a second before they yanked sharply on her wings, and she had stilled instantly.

Queen Scarlet had gone on and on about how they had never had a dragonet under 10 moons before, and she was very interesting how an Icewing that young had managed to get the mark of a traitor already.

Khione had almost exploded at that, her teeth baring and claws struggling to free themselves. Queen Scarlet had looked almost taken aback at her sudden anger but had brushed it off and told her guards to hold her tighter.

 _Fight fight how dare she say that_

But the rubies that were draped over every available scale and the shining diamonds surrounding her eyes just like Cobra did not seem to hold her down at all as she flew easily next to her. Khione had noticed that while the Skywing's wings were gigantic, Queen Glacier's wings were just as big, if not bigger. And in fact, the Skywing Queen didn't seem much bigger than the dragons holding her right now. But there were light scars that littered over her scales, and they did not seem to have been made by a falling stone or sharp rock.

She had left, off to 'search for more lost dragonets' but not before telling her what exciting news she had - that Khione would soon have the chance to fight for her Hatching day, which was today. Khione couldn't have had worse luck.

Fight?

She was a dragonet, one that was shrunken and weak from living under a mountain - _you survived Duskfire anything this dragon tries is nothing_

But now she could only sit up here, with the clouds and the wind and the sounds she had never seen or touched or heard before, and wait for her doom.

It had come much too quickly.

There had been one distraction, a group of young dragonets about her age, though larger, had been dragged up and out on the towers as well. A brown one, a blue one, a yellow one, and a black one.

Maybe it was common practice to abandon dragonets?

Khione could almost wish she had been abandoned.

But now, with the arena below slowly filling full of dragons and the majesty herself coming out, Khione would have given her own left wing if it meant she could stay back at the cave where at least she knew she wouldn't die. _Duskfire Duskfire Duskfire_

Cobra would keep her alive, at least.

"Welcome to Queen Scarlet's Hatching Day!" A loud Skywing announced. Khione tried to drown him out. She didn't want to listen. She was happy enough to stare up at the clouds; she had never seen them before.

But when the roar of dragons quieted and the annoying voice died down, the Icewing found she had to pay attention. The bright Skywing was flapping almost directly in front of the mass of towers, his eyes sweeping through the prisoners.

 _Prisoner prisoner prisoner Duskfire kept it in wounds they keep you in chains_

"We have a _very_ special surprise today. It seems that several young dragonets were found within the mountains today. Whatever shall we do with them?"

The dragons in the stages roared.

Khione froze.

They were going to send her out there? Into an arena that had been so tainted by blood that she could smell it from up here?

The Skywing beat his wings and pointed his claws up to the array of towers. "Why don't we let you vote?"

He held up five talons, ticking them off as he said a new name. "A Mudwing, a Seawing, a Nightwing, a Sandwing, and an Icewing." He paused, listening to the thousand roaring voices. Combinations seemed to be cried out from every corner in the arena.

But Khione couldn't help but notice that every dragon in the tower that wasn't one of the dragonets was looking immensely relieved, their wings sagging.

They didn't want to fight.

But she would have to.

 _Rip bite rip they're all Duskfire_ _now_

"Why don't we let our Queen decide?" The Skywing announced, pointing his talons at the dragon in question.

" _Yes!_ " Seemed to be the only word that soared through the air all around her.

Queen Scarlet stood delicately, her dark wings fluttering out beside her. Endless rows of gems in between her scales gleamed brightly.

"Well," she began, her voice shooting out to every corner of the arena. Her wicked eyes shot up to the towers "why don't we have one of them try out against someone who's already played my games? What about," she paused for effect, "Seawing verses Seawing?"

The roar of the crowd practically deafened her.

"Besides, I want to save the more _thrilling_ ones for later!" The Queen exclaimed. Her eyes scanned the towers, and Khione tucked herself farther away from the Skywing's gaze.

 _Thrilling thrilling you'll show her thrilling_

Guards, each one bared some sort of the collar, flew upon two Seawings. One was the dragonet, the other a fully grown one. Khione huddled farther back, her eyes filling with pity as the thrashing dark blue dragon was forced down into the arena.

"And here we have Tsunami of the Seawings and Gill of the Seawings! Tails up, claws ready! Fight!"

Khione turned away, inching herself backward along the spire towards the back, no matter how the wire bit against her scales - _nothing nothing she had had claws ripped through every part of her this was nothing_

She would not watch a dragon die.

 _Unless it was Duskfire watch his wings be torn off and fangs removed_

Roars and hisses from the crowd filled her ears until she heard the _crack_ of a snapping neck. She found herself glancing over the edge before she could stop herself, only to find the dragonet standing on the downed body of the other Seawing.

She had guts. That was for sure.

But Khione simply closed her eyes and prayed for it to be over, prayed for it to end. But when she opened them again, nothing had changed.

"Oh, well then," Queen Scarlet tched. "The next fight will be better! Welcoming, another rude dragon we've seen before - and the Icewing!"

* * *

 **Hey! I'm not dead! Hope you enjoy these rapid-fire chapters! More coming soon.**

 **Frost OUT!**


	7. Chapter 7

Khione froze, her entire body pressing right to the stone beneath her.

" _\- and the Icewing!_ "

She was going to fight? She would have to fight?

Here?

Already wing beats surrounded her, and she tore her head up and looked.

Two guards, one copper and the other red, slowly flapped their way down to stand on the edges. They were both large, many times bigger than she was, and had several scars on their legs and claws. Other prisoners had resisted, she guessed. One, the red one, held onto a dull collar in his claws.

 _Rip attack bite how dare they try to chain you more_

They were going to try to force another manacle on her?

She wished them luck.

Khione hissed at them, her tail whipped around to point threateningly at them. Her claws were fully out in front of her, fangs bared.

They settled on the edge, eyes flicking over her and to the other. She pulled at the ropes surrounding her, lunging only feet from them. The copper one looked almost surprised at her boldness.

One waggled his wings wildly, almost slapping them against the stone pillar. Her attention snapped to him, dark blue eyes alight with fury.

 _Bite bite bite_

At least, before the other darted forward and snapped the collar around her throat.

Her mind snapped back.

 _Queen Glacier, the only other Icewing she had ever seen, snapping a manacle around her leg…_

But the guards started to hoist her into the air and she stopped thinking about that.

They had rough grips on her sides and wings, and though they pulled they were _nothing nothing nothing_

She was hauled off of her platform despite her best efforts, claws even attempting to dig into the stone's surface to hook her way back to it. But the guards had simply plucked her off like Duskfire had, and now she was above the Arena, dropping closer and closer through every wingbeats of the guards above her.

"Surprising fact," the loud Skywing said, lazily flapping closer to her. "This Icewing, despite being a dragonet, has already earned the mark of a traitor! If you guards wouldn't mind…" He gestured with his claw to roughly towards her, his eyes open and curious. The crowd collectively leaned in.

It seemed they didn't. They spun Khione around until her back leg shown freely, the silver band catching the light. The entire crowd started to whisper.

 _Don't let them see they don't know that was all the Queen_

She writhed furiously, forcing the guards to spin her back around so they could have a better grip. She slashed her tail up at them, scoring a hit on his stomach. He roared out, to the crowd's apparent delight. There wasn't enough force behind it for blood, but the scales there were definitely darker than they had been.

"We can only wonder where one this young managed to get something like this! Maybe it'll help her in her fight!" He looped once, placing more and more distance between him and the field.

The guards dropped her, from several feet up, to the hard packed ground. She landed with a thud, her leg bending below her.

 _Nothing nothing nothing_

The two Seawings - one alive, the other not - were already gone. Khione pushed herself to her feet and stared shakily around the constantly moving crowd.

She was used to two, maybe three dragons. Having this many was suffocating.

 _Fight it fight it fight it be strong strong strong_

Two more guards flew overhead and dropped a hissing, spitting Sandwing into the arena next to her. Instantly she was on guard, inching away from the furious dragon. Sand boiled up around him when he dug his claws into the ground to regain his balance.

The Skywing darted over to the Queen, whispering a quiet question in her ear. Seconds later he flew back out, grin smartly back in place.

"Here we have Cacti of the Sandwings and Khione of the Icewings! Tails up, claws ready! Fight!"

The Sandwing had already climbed to his feet, black eyes glaring at her.

 _Nothing nothing you have faced Cobra in her anger this was nothing_

"Give me a real dragon!" Cacti suddenly roared to the crowd. "Not a dragonet! It is wrong to kill one so young!"

His golden scales, still much duller than Cobra's, seemed to glow with his passion. His eyes flared with strength. Claws extended towards the sky.

But still the red Skywing dropped closer to the ground, shaking his head. He looked almost remorseful, but the gleam in his eye that looked so much like the one on Queen Scarlet said otherwise.

"Can't do that. If you want to leave, you must kill the dragons we tell you to."

 _Kill kill is that all that matters here_

Then he swooped off, leaving her and an older, stronger dragon capable of killing her.

"I am sorry, young one." Cacti whispered quietly to her, his voice and eyes saddened. Her attention snapped back to him and she hissed softly. "But I must go home to my little one." No one had heard the words he uttered. She stopped hissing, rather confused.

But then he sprang at her, mouth full of broiling flames.

 _Duskfire's were worse_

Instinct took over and she darted to the side, tripping over her own feet and rolling under his attacks.

A burst of fire shot over her horns, warming the air around them. She opened her own mouth and let the ice start to grow on her fangs - the temperate around her needed to lower if she would stand a chance. Already the sun and the heat-absorbing sand were drastically lowering her ability to fight.

It worked; though something else happened. The second Cacti had seen the crystals he had darted away, his mouth snapping closed.

Did the other tribes fear their frost breath so much?

Khione retreated as well, a wonderful cool spreading around her. The sand seemed to grow cold beneath her talons. She snapped her jaw closed, her eyes picking apart Cacti.

She had had to do this with Duskfire. Figure out when he will strike or get hit. It was during what he had called battle training, which happened everyday. She knew how to defend herself.

 _Rip until they don't move you know this he taught you already_

Cacti's claws twitched and she was already throwing herself to the side, watching as he soared over her. His claws raked the air above her head.

"Did you see that, folks?" The Skywing exclaimed as he soared closer with his booming voice. "Seems our Icewing can see into the future!"

Cacti hit the wall, but with his back claws. He had turned around mid air and had used the momentum to rocket himself forward. His mouth was open in a savage roar and sharp claws were pointed directly forward. Khione had no time to dodge.

The claws raked her flank, catching on young scales and tearing through them to get to the skin below. Agony roared through her veins.

 _Duskfire did this all day and night you took it there you can take it here_

And take it she did. Her pain was almost forgotten as she simply spun around and tore her own serrated, sharpened claws through Cacti's sensitive muzzle.

He screamed, falling backwards. His claws came up to try to stop the blood flow that already had begun to pour from his mouth.

" _Did you see that?!"_ The Skywing bellowed. "Not even a flinch! Khione is sure passing up all expectations now!"

But she could feel the pain bubbling up around, the same as the blood that leaked from her side. But fire roared through her veins despite her need for cold and she pushed herself farther and farther. She rose to her talons and faced the Sandwing.

 _Don't let them see your pain pain pain_

Cacti drew himself to his feet, his eyes full of anger but understanding, too; he knew just as well as she did that they both had to do this.

He flung himself at her, seeming to fly despite his wings tied down. His barbed tail glinted in front of him, aimed at her heart.

 _Move move move fight fight_

Cobra's 'lessons' leapt into her head. She darted forward herself, grabbed the tip of his tail in her fangs right below the barb and used his momentum to whip him around her body.

Cacti soared through the air like a bird, limbs and head and tail flying everywhere around in a large mess. A large _thud_ later and when the dust cleared, Cacti was revealed lying brokenly on the ground.

His wings fluttered weakly, the clip on the right one lying broken and shattered on the floor. But it didn't look like he'd be able to fly away.

A bleeding puncture wound near his neck was already leaking a blackish pus. It seemed that he had accidently caught himself in the fall.

Khione crept over to him, her tail lowered and head down. She tuned out whatever the Skywing said and leaned close to the downed dragon.

" _I'm sorry too,_ " she whispered to him. Cacti stared at her for a second before nodding. He tilted his head ever so slightly away from her, but his face was tense and his black eyes were tightly closed. Khione raised one claw.

 _Do it do it do it Duskfire would do it_

And then she slit his throat.

The crowd roared, fire breath hissing coming down around the little Icewing crouched over the broken body of an obviously dead Sandwing. Blood leaked from his neck and over her claws. Pale blue blood seemingly poured from deep cuts on her side, but she paid them no mind.

But already the pain was starting to come back, like fire through her heat sensitive veins.

 _Hold it hold it wait until later_

"And the winner is Khione of the Icewings!" The Skywing exclaimed, his voice as loud as ever. He did not seem to care that the little dragonet in the arena had just killed a dragon.

But the golden Sandwing in the crowd noticed, and her black diamond outlined eyes narrowed.

Miles and miles and miles away, a diamond grew hotter and hotter against a certain Queen's scales.

"I know." The powerful Icewing snapped up at it. "I know she's in danger. But what can I do about it?"

It flared again.

Queen Glacier's eyes widened.

"She's _where_?"

And then she was gone, just wingbeats into the clouds.

The guards had come to collect her.

The crowd still roared even as others swept fresh sand over the bloodied parts to wipe the memories away, crying out to their littlest champion for more blood.

Khione found she did not want to leave the broken body of the Sandwing who'd just wanted to go home.

 _They deserve to die fight them fight_

She coiled around him, hissing viciously up at the pair of guards. Her wings snapped out and her scarred tail danced threatening by her side. Her claws dug into the sandy floor. They seem significantly more nervous of her now, flitting above her.

 _Look bigger bigger they are frightened of things brighter than them_

Her teeth bared further and now her talons came out, lashing up the guards who are circling her from up above.

"Well, come on now!" The Skywing chuckled, but she noticed he was flying a bit higher off the ground. "Let's get the little Icewing out of here!"

 _He is scared scared scared_

She hissed again, her mouth open just a little bit. But it was enough for the crystals to start to form without them noticing.

She didn't want to kill them, or even hurt them. She just didn't want to be bothered again.

She turned ever so slightly until she was directly underneath the loud Skywing who had kept talking while she was - _killing_. He had taken his eye off of her, talking loudly to the suddenly quieting crowd. Most had noticed her and were shouting for the Skywing to notice her.

 _Do it now now NOW_

And then she snapped her head backwards and released her most powerful frost breath up at him.

It touched barely the tip of his talons but still he cried out, his flapping stilling. He seemed to float, suspended in the air, and then he started to plummet. He caught himself just in time before hitting the ground, pumping his wings hard to soar back up.

The crowd roared with laughter, several teasing voices echoing over the arena. The Skywing played it off with a chuckle, waving his talons liked he'd planned it. But he didn't come any closer to Khione.

It was a dangerous queendom here. Ruled by a maniac, but kept in line by their own bloodthirsty selves.

But then the guards fell from the sky, their heavy feet landing right on her back.

 _Take it take it take it take it_

But she couldn't.

Khione cried out, collapsing. The guards take an iron hold on her collar and hoist her up, slowly flying up to the towers. They move slower, holding her away from themselves. Neither had expected her to have any fight left, the little dragonet she was.

But she did.

They dropped her and she landed painfully on her back, her wings flattening beneath her. She started to struggle, to turn over, to lash out at them.

 _Be strong strong strong_

But the guards swooped down and secured each of her limbs before she could even think.

Out of the battle and with the adrenaline dying, suddenly Khione could feel the claws marks down her sides much clearer than she had before. They burned like fire, and the pain was spreading all over her leg.

 _You took it then you can take it now_

She collapsed onto the other side, taking the weight off of it. Gritting her teeth, she hauled her wing as far down as it could go and covered the wound. The clip pulled at her wing harshly.

 _Duskfire has done worse keep going you don't have time to stop and think_

So she bit back her pain and kept staring over the edge at the arena.

But thoughts kept running through her head, and she can't stop them.

Will she die here?

Now?

She took a second away from concentrating and looked over her wound.

 _Don't think about it just work through it_

Blood oozed slowly out of it, large amounts already covering her legs. The band was almost hidden beneath layers of scarlet.

But the thought hit her.

She _will_ die if someone doesn't heal this.

And she knew that was true.

The matches continued, but Khione was quickly growing too weak to support herself much longer. Her entire pillar was covered in scarlet, her leg still bleeding despite her attempts to staunch it with her wing. Black spots danced in the corners of her eyes, swirling around.

The wind was the only thing keeping her awake, it's cold touch slapping against her whenever her eyes fluttered.

 _Embrace it stay awake you must stay awake_

But she knew that she won't make the night.

With Duskfire, she would wake up with moss neatly folded into her wounds or even stitches running up some of the larger ones. There would be clean water to wash it out with and food that she could eat. She had time to heal before she was sent out again.

 _You have to make it make it make it_

But here, she feared she would be sent out in the arena before she could even have a chance at healing.

Black swarmed over her vision despite her attempts to blink it back.

 _Be strong strong strong strong_

She collapsed.

Tsunami hissed another challenge out to the air, her thick tail beating a pattern on the hard stone beneath her. If she could have, there'd be fire trickling from her mouth.

But she was a Seawing.

Another brutal battle, one between a Seawing and an Icewing, one she had to turn away at. The dragons seemed insane here.

Like Gill.

She shuddered, feeling the _crack_ of his neck beneath her talons. Her mind shook itself out of that current and went back to anything that could distract her. She plucked at one of the wires attached to her hind leg, producing a weird, whispering sound. She did it again, curiosity peaked.

But suddenly the string went taunt, straighter than she had ever felt it. It yanked her, almost as if she was being pulled down.

She yelped, leaning furiously in the other direction. Her folded wings beat against the sky, inching her forward until her hooked claws caught purchase on the stone lip of the pillar.

She swiveled her head and opened her mouth to scream at the dragon that was pulling her down.

But then she couldn't.

The Icewing, the tiny, tiny Icewing the same size as Sunny who had won a battle like her was collapsed on her side, not moving. She was slipping, parts of her already off of her platform.

And then she saw the blood.

It coated the pillar, dripping off the edge in places. It seemed to have been thrown there, splattered and smeared around.

Then Tsunami saw the origin.

Four heavily bleeding slashes ran down the Icewing's flank, from her battle with the Sandwing. They were deep and much worse than Tsunami had ever seen. Even Kestrel had an easier bite than this.

Even Dune's wounds seemed better.

She froze for only a second.

"HELP!" She cried out, startling every dragon near her. A Sandwing attached to her front leg shot her a dirty look. Tsunami gestured furiously to the Icewing. His eyes widened.

The cry for help spread across the towers, going from dragon to dragon. Soon the Skywings would notice.

And that they did. Queen Scarlet simply flicked her tail and several guards flew up, ready to shut up the prisoners, but when every dragon pointed in some way in a certain direction, they did look.

And the Icewing was almost completely off of the tower now, Tsunami focusing more on keeping herself on top of the stone than crying out to save the Icewing.

The four guards swooped down like an eagle, snatching up the dragonet and quickly detaching all of her chains. They picked her up arm for arm and started to fly back down to the Queen.

Tsunami pointedly tried to ignore the steady drip of blood that followed the dragonet.

The Queen's eyes widened when she saw the dragonet, but she just stabbed her tail towards an opening low in the rock. The guards flew down, soon disappearing from her view.

Tsunami noticed that almost every one of the prisoners' attention was snapped onto the dying dragonet, along with most of the crowd. A roar had sounded, one that came with cries of "Save her!" or "Let her fight again!"

Tsunami wasn't quite sure whether to be happy or not with their reasoning, but they were going to save a dragonet the same age as them.

She froze.

 _An Icewing dragonet the same age as them, incredibly powerful, and in the same place?_

Her eyes widened as she stared at the blood covered pillar.

 _Was that Icewing - Khione - a Dragonet of Destiny like them?_

 _The missing dragonet?_

* * *

 **Khione's having a bad day xD**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please read and review!**

 **Frost OUT!**


	8. Chapter 8

Khione was dropped, bleeding and broken, atop of a cold stone table. Her scales sucked in the cool, greedily accepting it over the blistering air that swept over the rest of her.

But her flank burned, filled with a heat that no chill or frost breath could quench. She writhed as best she could, flapping her wings desperately.

She could not force her eyes to open; they were so very heavy and full of weight she didn't have a chance.

She could feel claws, dagger sharp, pressing along her flank. They skirted around the edges, feeling over the wounds that covered her like fire. But even they were too warm for her, and she yearned to move away from them.

And then one talon dipped _inside_ her wound.

She screamed, her voice high and piercing despite her inability to move. The claw simply poked farther in, scraping against the insides of her flesh. Her throat burned roughly but the air in her lungs was unending as she cried out her pain.

"Stop that." A voice demanded.

Queen Scarlet stomped into the stone room, eyes narrowed and chest glowing with fire. Smoke curled out from her maw, sliding up the room to slink across the ceiling.

"I've almost got a rebellion on my claws," she hissed out, marching right up against the shivering Icewing on the table. "They love this dragon, and they want her _alive_. So don't go sticking your claws in her!"

The deep copper colored Skywing withdrew his claws, looking only slightly abashed. His tongue flicked out as he stared at her, head cocked to one side. His gaze darted over to the Icewing, but only for a second.

"Eagle. Can you fix her?" She growled, her tail thrashing against the ground. Her chest glowed brighter, the _hiss_ of her fire breath punctuating her speech.

"Well…" Eagle poked her flank again, feeling the silver scales shudder under his touch. He frowned at the bloodied tip his claw had gained, pausing for only a second.

He leaned down, reaching under the table. He came back up holding a bundle of thick green leaves, which he quickly pressed against the Icewing's side. Blood still leaked from it, mostly stopped by the leaves.

"If we get your Champion to cauterize it, she should recover, maybe in a couple of days. It would have to be done quickly; she's losing a lot of blood."

"Fine." Queen Scarlet snarled darkly, smoke still pumping out from her lips. Her teeth bared, she stormed out of the room and disappeared one way down the hall.

Eagle leaned closer to the Icewing, watching her movements. She was thrashing, but only lightly; she was quickly passing out. He held a claw over her head, feeling the heat pounding up from it. He frowned, swiveling his head to look out the window. He readjusted the leaves stopping the blood from leaking out, and stepped towards the window.

It gave him a perfect view of the prisoner towers and the arena, so that he could prepare if any of the prisoners were drastically injured in a fight. Like this Icewing.

He caught a glimpse of white blue scales in the pillars and nodded to himself. He moved around the table and, shifting the leaves one last time, stepped over to the entrance. He poked his bright copper head out, squinting with the powerful light so different from his dim room.

"You!" He barked out, directing his gaze to a bored looking red guard near the entrance. She jumped up, swiveling to face Eagle. Her eyes were wide and startled.

"Get me that Icewing up there, in chains." He pointed up at the prisoners' towers, his own eyes scanning until he found the flash of white. He waited until the guard saw what he was looking at, pulling his claw back to his side.

The guard hesitated, wings tucking themselves closer to her body. "Do you have clearance?"

"Queen Scarlet needs that dragon; get it now!" He snarled, baring his large teeth.

The Skywing yelped and took off, pounding her wings against the air. She went straight up and disappeared from his view.

Eagle went back to the Icewing, idly noticed that she had moved enough to have her tail hang over the edge. But now she was still; he might have thought her dead if not for the slight movements of her chest.

Only seconds after he arrived, Queen Scarlet pounded in with her Champion right on her tail. The coppery red dragon had her wings and tail tucked carefully to her side, every blue eyes watching out for anything she might touch.

"Over here." He pointed a talon at the Icewing's leaf covered side, waiting for her to step over.

Peril did so, carefully avoiding Queen Scarlet. She stared curiously at the tiny Icewing, smoke rising around her horns.

"Claws here." Eagle said stiffly, tugging away a portion of the leaves so that they exposed one claw mark from the Sandwing. It was the smallest one, but still larger than a normal claw spread. He pointed towards it, before taking a quick step back.

She only hesitated a second before pressing one long talon to the open wound.

The sound of sizzling flesh was in the air for only a second before the Icewing screamed in tortured agony. It was high, fierce, terrified; Eagle wouldn't doubt the dragons in the crowd had heard it. It went on endlessly, the dragonet never stopping for air.

But after a short pause, Peril lifted her claws off to reveal blackened flesh where a wound had once been. It wasn't as dark or burnt as other dragons normally got, but Icewings had a lower body temperature and could withstand heats better than most. But it was still hideous, and would definitely scar over.

And there was still three more wounds to go.

He pulled away more of the leaves, pointing with his talons. "Claws here."

Fjord snapped furiously at the two guards that floated above him.

They hadn't announced another fight. Why was he being taken down?

His tail thrashed against the restraints holding it and he bared his teeth. His wings flapped forcefully. Frost crystals appeared on his fangs, and they grew in size and number every second.

"Now!" The red one barked, and the other dropped neatly on his back and had a talon around his mouth before he could even think of recovering.

"Chains!" She barked again, throwing a chain around his front legs. They were quickly secured and his bindings taken off, the other wrapping a thick one around his muzzle. His frost breath was cut off, stopped before he could fire a single shot.

They hoisted him up, ignoring his growled threats and furious movements. The crowd collectively leaned in as they flew him closer to the field, but groaned when he was taken to an open tunnel near the side.

He paused in his thrashing, swiveling his chained head around to peer as best he could towards it.

Where were they taking him?

Ducking under the overhead of stone, the two guards glided down until they were dragging the heavily chained Fjord along the path. With a quick turn, the guards pulled the Icewing into a room. They took the end of his chains and attached them to several sturdy rings in the floor built for that very purpose.

But Fjord was so frozen the chains weren't doing anything.

An Icewing - Icewing _dragonet_ \- was writhing on a stone table, screaming its lungs out. Above it stood the Queen's Champion, flaming claws pressed to its side. The dragonet had horrible black marks burns up and down its flank, but still the Skywing kept on burning more and more of its weak silver scales.

Fjord exploded into hisses and deep throated bellows. The Skywings torturing an Icewing dragonet _in front of him?_

He writhed in his chains, shaking them with such force the very walls shook. They bit into his legs and neck but still he struggled, leaning endlessly towards the dragonet.

The Queen's Champion darted her head up, jumping in surprise. Her claws went flying.

They burned a track up around the Icewing's scales, shooting up it's front leg and wrapping around it's neck. The dragonet screamed anew, the sound unending.

The Skywing hissed and threw her claws back, but the damage was done; a thin, jerky line of blackened scales that wound around the Icewing like a chain.

The silver dragonet smashed her still clipped wings against the stone, her head whipping through the air until another orange dragon pinned her throat to the table with dagger claws. The Icewing froze, claws instinctually coming up without a thought to push at the dragon's talons. The orange dragon hissed, looking over at the copper dragon next to the Icewing.

"Eagle." The orange Skywing hissed. "What - _exactly_ \- is an Icewing doing her?"

"Well, Queen Scarlet," Eagle began, not noticing Fjord's widening eyes, "this dragonet won't survive the cauterizing of her wounds without something cold to go on top of them. So I thought that frost breath should do the trick."

The Queen snorted smoke through her nostrils, but stepped back and glared pointedly at Fjord. He attempted to bare his teeth at her despite the chain around his jaw.

She smirked at him, before reaching over and casually snatching the chain attached to his neck. She yanked on it fiercely, pulling his head down below hers. She dragged him despite his struggles towards the dragonet, before stopping and pointing with one claw at the burn marks. "Frost these," she demanded.

Fjord looked at them. They were much worse up close, the burns covering much more than the slivers of claw marks he had seen. He had no idea where the dragonet had gotten them; he had not watched the fights today the second the Skywing had announced there would be dragonets. He had not wanted to see a young one die, especially not one of his own tribe.

He opened his mouth or at least tried to. The chains still held their grip over him, powerful and much stronger than his jaw. He glared pointedly at them, before swiveling his head to stare at the Queen.

She ripped them off without any warning. Her claws cut slightly into his scales, making them smart around his muzzle. He winced, but turned his head back to the dragonet. His jaw snapped open, frost crystals forming.

The Skywings took a collective step back, watching him warily. He grinned softly throughout his frost breath.

And then he shot it out.

Instead of crying out in pain, like how even Icewings would when frost breath was used on them, the dragonet let out a low, soft sigh. It calmed, at least enough for it to stop moving. Fjord didn't let up the stream of frost until the wounds were completely covered in a sparklingly sheen of ice.

"Humph." Queen Scarlet hissed, looking over the dragonet. With a quick snap of her talons, chains flew around Fjord's muzzle, snapping his jaw closed.

"You don't have to fight today," she threw back at him as she stomped out of the room.

Fjord was frozen, before he almost wanted to laugh or cry with relief. The option of not fighting on the Queen's Hatching Day… many would have killed for this.

The guards took him away, having a much easier job as the Icewing barely struggled at all. He seemed relieved, his wings tucked to his sides and neck curving downwards. They took him back up to the towers, quickly taking him away from sight.

But Eagle had to wait only a second before Queen Scarlet came back in.

"Will she survive?" She demanded immediately, her tail jabbing towards the dragonet.

"Well, yes," Eagle admitted, poking his talons around the wound. They were completely covered; no blood would be getting through it. "But I would strongly advise not to have her fight for a couple of days, maybe even a week."

"Fine." Queen Scarlet waved a claw dismissively before her gaze sharpened back on the dragonet's closed eyes.

"But tomorrow, she will be kneeling in my courtroom with all of the other dragonets I found. I will hold you personally responsible if all of them are not there right after the sun rises."

Eagle gulped. "Of course, Queen Scarlet."

Cobra writhed in the stands, barely looking at the fight between two dragons she didn't give a scavengers' bone about.

Instead, her attention was focused on the little tunnel in the side of the arena.

She had thought Khione was fine; the little dragonet hadn't so much as flinched when she was struck by the Sandwing. But after seeing her covered in blood and too weak to even struggle, she wasn't so sure.

But the Icewing was gone, forced into the care of a mad dragon Queen with an army and power.

And Cobra had no idea on how to get her back.

* * *

 **Hello! Last chapter for this insane burst of them. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Please read and review!**

 **Frost OUT!**


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